Duke develops brain tumor-fighting vaccine

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Durham, N.C. — A cancer patient who thought he was facing a death sentence said that Duke Hospital's research into a brain-tumor vaccine gave him a new lease on life.

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A year go, Alan Ferraro, 60, of New Haven, Conn., experienced a seizure, which led to a diagnosis of stage 4 glioblastoma – a brain tumor. Doctors told Ferraro and his wife Jola that he had 40 weeks to live.

"Then the hospital sent me home, told me there was nothing they could do for me," Ferraro said.

Ferraro searched the Internet for information about his condition and found encouraging research being done at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

In May 2008, brain surgeon Dr. Allan Friedman said he could remove Ferraro's tumor – the same operation he was planning for a more famous patient a few days later.